Judah Maccabee had a TerraPass

Tips for a low-carbon Hanukkah

Jerusalem, Dec. 14 — Just days before the arrival of Hanukkah 5769, archeologists have surprised Jews around the world with the discovery that Judah Maccabee — the protagonist in the famous Jewish survival story — had a Home TerraPass affixed to his tent. The evidence emerged from a previously untouched area of Israeli land where the Maccabees fought their last battle. Researchers also found a small vessel (probably used to carry olive oil) marked with the TerraPass tagline “Restore the Balance” in Hebrew. The archeological team believes that this tiny amount of low-carbon biofuel burned for eight nights and inspired the Jewish people to conserve energy for generations to come.

OK, it’s the end of the year and I’m getting a little carried away with revisionist history. Hanukkah starts so late this year (first night is Dec. 21) and I yearn for latkes smothered with applesauce, sour cream, and cinnamon. But one good thing about the late start is that there’s still time to buy energy-efficient Hanukkah gifts for the whole mishpuchah.

In the TerraPass green store, I can recommend the Smart Strip, a surge protector that cuts down on electricity use from computers and other electronics. Many people find that the device pays for itself in electricity savings in a year or less. Or take a look at the Kill-A-Watt monitor, which tracks electricity costs for home appliances. Then, there’s the Solio solar-powered battery charger — a Jetsons-like gadget that will charge up the juice for your cell-phone or iPod.

Finally, no dreidel game is complete without a gift pack of Climate Change Chocolate. One bar offsets an average person’s carbon emissions per day, and it tastes much better than Hanukkah gelt.

P.S. For some rabbinic wisdom on environmental themes within Hanukkah, you may want to read Arthur Waskow and Jeff Sultar’s Jewcy.com post on Ending the Climate Crisis One Menorah at a Time.

Image by Flickr user JP Puerta.